About the author
Manuela Williams Crosno was born in 1905 and died in 1977. She lived most of her life in New Mexico. She decided to use her state as the setting for her stories, because of the love she had for it. Usually she wrote her stories about the Spanish settlers for her interest in that culture. Crosno taught for many years as an English teacher, and was a poet, artist and illustrator too. One of her articles “Why I teach school” won the First Prize in a statewide writing contest.
Summary of the story
Emilio and Anastacio were two brothers, and Berta was their sister. At the begging of the story Emilio asked to his brother Anastacio for one peso, because his son was sick. He deny borrowing him some money explaining him in an awful way, he doesn’t have responsibilities of a family, why should he borrow him money for that. Anastacio’s only dream was to own his Store food, and he would do whatever it needs to be able to have one with the harvesting of his field. In July of that year his sister Berta came to his house to ask for some money. Her house has suffered damages for a tree with the hailstones, but as usually he only though about himself and he didn’t help to his sister and husband neither. After two failed crops, he noticed that where he kept the money, some pesos had been stolen. His money to achieve the store food was incomplete. He started to harvest once more the field. It looked like finally he would have those extra pesos he was missing to buy his shop. He was going to the valley to sell his perfect harvest of pinto beans, but in the road he suffered an accident, letting him very bad, and with his crop all over the ground. The person who caused the accident paid him all the pinto beans Anastacio have lost. Just minutes after that moment, his brother and sister looked his horses coming where they were working on their field, and right away they ran where Anastacio was. He was already dead. His sister was crying, while his brother, Emilio, was too sad. They saw in Anastacio’s hand fifty pesos, and in his leather bag, where he carried the other money, two hundred fifty pesos more. They couldn’t believe he had so much money with him, so they decided to use it for the Anastacio’s beautiful funeral.
Plot
Conflict:
Anastacio wanted to have the enough money (300 pesos) to own his store.
Rising Action:
1. Emilio, his brother, asked one peso to Anastacio for his son, who was sick.
2. During a hailstones’ storm, Anastacio lost his corn crop.
3. Berta, his sister, went to ask some money to Anastacio, because she and her husband lost their house with a tree in the storm.
4. All Anastacio’s field was destroyed by a flock of wandering sheep.
5. Anastacio harvested pinto beans to sell them in the valley in fifty pesos.
6. On the road to the valley, he suffered a accident losing all his pinto beans.
7. The person owner of the wagon who caused the accident paid him for the pinto beans Anastacio had lost.
Climax:
When Anastacio finally was rich, he died for the impact of the accident.
Resolution:
All the money Anastacio had earned would be used by his brother and sister for his beautiful funeral.
Characters
Anastacio: Main character. He was a very selfish and egotistical person. He didn’t care about nobody and anything but himself and have a store.
Emilio: Anastacio’s brother. A nice person, who worried about their family.
Berta: Anastacio’s sister. A good woman, also worried about her family and hardworker woman.
Moral teaching
In the world exist every kind of person, with a lot of different personalities, and even in the same family you could find huge differences. One moral of the story would be: “Family comes first” You always have to help the person who is needy in any way, and still better if is your family. And the other moral: “Don’t let money be so important in life” No matter what happen trying to achieve happiness, money can’t be your whole life, because at the end, can finish being your long way to ruin.
My opinion
I can say, I do like the story but at the same time I hate it. The only reason of hate is because of Anastacio. It can’t be real so much selfishness in one person with their own family, with the purpose of goal a dream. Is true what the people says “Bad things happens to those persons who does bad things “, related with “Karma”. And what I like is so much was the honesty with their dead brother. No matter what he did to them, they kept thinking it was his money, so they had to use it for his beautiful funeral.
